1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to seat or pant insulating and waterproofing devices and, more particularly, to a convenient wrap-around and waterproof article of apparel which can be quickly applied over the user's conventional outdoor clothing and which provides a measured degree of both waterproof resistance when the user is in a seated position during the outdoor activity, as well as a degree of insulating warmth.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Various types of insulating and, to some extent, waterproofing, seat materials are known in the art and for use in outdoor activities. A first example of such a device is set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 5,625,895, issued to Sovereign, and which discloses a garment for protecting the buttocks of a wearer when seated.
Sovereign includes a waist band with a rectangular pad depending downwardly from a rear of the waist band and having a width which extends around the rear of the wearer and downwardly beyond the wearer's crotch. A utility pocket is provided on an inner or front surface of the pad and so that the pocket is arranged forwardly and between the legs of the user when the user is seated. On the outside of the pad is provided a transparent plastic cover defining a pocket for receiving printed information such as a sports logo and the pocket is closable by pulling the waist band around the waist of the user.
While providing an interesting disclosure, it is noted that the device of Sovereign likely has certain limitations to the size of individual to which it can be applied by virtue of its construction. Furthermore, the incorporation of multiple layers of material, including the inner fleece layer, the layer of foam material, and the outer waterproof layer, tend to add bulkiness to the article. It has been also found that, once the outer waterproof layer inevitably becomes ripped, torn or snagged due to persistent outdoor use, the inner layers of a device such as Sovereign will quickly become waterlogged and compromised, thus rendering them ineffective for their intended tasks.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,003,634, issued to Brinkman, teaches a belt type garment with foldable seat cover and having straps projecting from opposing ends of a pouch secured about a user's waist. An elongate opening formed in the pouch is positioned above the user's seat and is releasably closed by two separate (inner and outer) zippers. An elongate panel or sheet of flexible, waterproof material is secured at one end of one edge of the pouch opening to extend downwardly out of one (outer) zipper into an operative position beneath one's seat. The panel or sheet may then be secured in place by two other straps which fasten around the legs of the user. The inner zipper may be closed to retain personal items in the pouch. When not in use, the waterproof panel is rolled up and stored in the pouch.
While providing an effective article, Brinkman includes a substantially rectangular and uniform cover section with only a first and second strap extending from opposite edges of the cover section. The further fact that the straps extend from proximately the outer opposite edges, rather than from more central locations of the panel of material, causes to provide a lesser degree of support to the user. Accordingly, the device of Brinkman tends to become very cumbersome and bulky when worn by a user, in that it restricts the freedom of motion of the user's legs and due to the tendency of the user to want to be able to move about with the upper portion of one leg in varying differing positions relative to the other leg, such usually being the case when climbing or scaling upon outdoor obstacles (trees, shrubs, hills, etc.). Accordingly, Brinkman would in reality be fairly limiting in actual applications.